Senate advances border measure at odds with House bill

The Democratic-led Senate advanced border legislation Wednesday, but still remained at odds with the Republican-led House on emergency funding to deal with the crush of 57,000 unaccompanied children in the Rio Grande Valley.

Senators voted 63-33 to consider a $3.5 billion emergency spending bill, but it was a procedural vote that merely assures further maneuvering on the legislation before Thursday’s expected congressional adjournment for a five-week August break.

The move opened the way for a floor debate where Republicans, who oppose the measure, hope to amend it.

The House is expected to vote Thursday on a stop-gap $659 million package would help officials dealing with the problem through the end of September. The House bill would change a 2008 anti-trafficking law that grants special protections to children arriving illegally from Central America. The Senate bill doesn’t.

It remains unclear whether either of the House or Senate bills has enough support for final passage. Even then, with time running out, the competing border measures would have to be reconciled in a House-Senate conference committee and returned for final votes.

As it stands, the Senate measure also contains money to fight western wildfires and help Israel maintain its air defenses against rocket attack.